Starting from Zero to Build a Demon Family
Chapter 14 - So Yotsuya Miko Decides to Become a Demon

Chapter 14: So Yotsuya Miko Decides to Become a Demon

Sinister. Cunning. Terrifying. Evil.

They toy with human hearts, deceive with smiles, and revel in torment. They are the cause behind every calamity.

That, at least, was Yotsuya Miko’s impression of demons.

So when Lynn claimed to be one, she wasn’t entirely convinced. Maybe he was just trying to frighten her. But then again… after everything she’d seen—those grotesque spirits hiding in plain sight—was it really so hard to believe demons existed?

“All right, President, that’s enough. Don’t scare her.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s voice cut in as she noticed Miko trembling, her arms hugging herself, her eyes glassy with dread. She looked seconds away from a breakdown, and Utaha feared Lynn might truly frighten her into a hospital bed.

It was Kasumigaoka-senpai!

Miko swore this was the most beautiful voice she had ever heard. So they were just teasing her, right? Demons and all that—surely fake. She shot Utaha a grateful look and immediately felt the weight on her chest ease.

Lynn shrugged. “Fine.”

He glanced at Miko and gestured toward the paper still trembling between her fingers. “So, want to join the Supernatural Investigation Club?”

Miko steadied her breathing and stared at the application form.

She hadn’t planned on joining. That much was true. But then he’d said it.

Yotsuya-san, you can see them, right?

It had struck her like lightning. She couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“Um…” she hesitated.

Lynn offered a short introduction, casual and calm. “Just call me Lynn. I’m a first-year too—same as you.”

“Okay… Lynn-san,” she nodded. Then, barely able to hold back the question burning in her chest, she asked, “Lynn-san, can you… see them too?”

“Of course.” He didn’t hesitate, didn’t blink. “What do you think the Supernatural Investigation Club is for?”

Of course!

Her eyes lit up like she’d just spotted a lifeline in a storm. A kindred spirit! Finally, someone who understood—someone who might even have a way out!

“Then Lynn-san, do you know how to get rid of them?”

If she slipped up even once, if one of those things noticed her—something awful would happen. She just knew it. She couldn’t live like this anymore, jumping at shadows, walking a tightrope over terror every single day.

“A way?” Lynn echoed.

“Yes!” she nodded so fast her hair bounced. “A way to get rid of them?”

Lynn grinned. “Of course there is.”

Yes!

The moment she heard it, her heart soared. She almost cried. Finally, after all this time… salvation!

Without hesitation, Miko shot to her feet, bent forward in a deep bow, and shouted, “Please—let me go back to a normal life!”

“Just kill them,” Lynn replied.

“Just kill them,” she echoed.

They had spoken in unison. Then silence fell over the room.

Lynn glanced at her, eyebrows raised. Not bad. Classic Yotsuya—timid, dramatic, and now… oddly enthusiastic about murder?

Miko slowly raised her head, her neck stiff, and looked into Lynn’s unbothered expression.

“K-kill them?” she stammered. “The spirits? Me?”

No, no, no!

She couldn’t do it. Not in a million years. It was impossible. Her mind rejected the thought outright.

“There’s only one question,” Lynn said coolly. “Do you want to join the Supernatural Investigation Club?”

“Or,” he added a beat later, “Yotsuya-san—would you rather become my retainer?”

She blinked. That part she didn’t quite catch. Retainer? Was that just another way of saying club member?

She focused on the real issue. “If I join the club… I’ll be able to kill the spirits?”

“Naturally.”

She hesitated. Could that really happen? She had never seen one of those monsters destroyed. Not by anyone. Not ever. But what choice did she have?

Nothing else had worked. And Lynn didn’t seem like he was joking.

She might as well trust him. She was like someone drowning. Even a piece of straw looked like salvation—and Lynn might be more than that. Besides, it was just a club. No real risks. No downside.

“Okay. I’ll join.” Miko’s voice was steady now, her eyes brimming with resolution.

Lynn’s smile widened. “Welcome to the Supernatural Investigation Club, Yotsuya-san.”

Then, just as she began to smile—

“Oh, and by the way,” he said casually, “demons are real.”

She froze. Her lips twitched. “Lynn-san… you’re still trying to scare me.”

But Lynn didn’t answer. Instead, he smiled wider. His back began to shift—convulsing with unnatural motion.

Then—rip.

Two sharp tears opened along the back of his uniform, right at the waist. A pair of black wings burst free, stretching outward with a leathery snap.

Whoosh—

The wings flapped once, sending a burst of wind spiraling through the clubroom.

Miko’s eyes went wide. Her pupils dilated. She couldn’t breathe.

A demon.

A real demon.

Lynn’s wings unfurled behind him, casting shadows on the walls. Her thoughts vanished.

Her brain shut down completely.

Lynn crossed his arms and rested his chin on top, his red eyes gleaming with something dark and unreadable.

“Yotsuya-san, now that you’ve seen my true form… you’re not allowed to run away.”

She felt the color drain from her face.

If she didn’t join… would he kill her?

Yes.

Definitely.

Probably?!

Her eyes filled with tears as a primal cry of despair echoed in her chest.

Then she collapsed to her knees at full speed, pressing her forehead to the floor with a perfect dogeza—so flawless it would’ve impressed a feudal lord.

“Please command me, O Demon Lord!” she shouted.

“The method of recruiting retainers is really simple and crude.” Kasumigaoka Utaha gave Lynn a sideways look.

“But it’s effective, isn’t it?”

Lynn only shrugged. Without any dramatic flourish, a demon chess piece shimmered into his palm. “Well then, choose a place on your body and insert this.”

Utaha’s eye twitched the moment the piece appeared, but she didn’t speak. Yotsuya Miko, on the other hand, looked up with a smile that was more tragic than cheerful. Her voice trembled.

“Demon Lord, may I ask… what is this?”

“The Reincarnation Ceremony,” Lynn answered simply. “Reincarnate as a demon and awaken extraordinary powers. After that, mere cursed spirits will be nothing—you’ll be able to destroy them with ease.”

Yotsuya froze. So this was the way to kill those malevolent spirits? Give up her humanity… and become a demon?

Her eyes wandered. She stole a glance at the wings on Lynn’s back and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. It wasn’t like she had a real choice.

What surprised her, though, was how easy it was to come to a decision once she let the thought settle. The fear and doubt that should have been there… just weren’t.

Come to think of it, wasn’t this better?

Rather than clinging to her human identity, always trapped in a world crawling with cursed things she couldn’t fight, maybe this was the better path. She could gain power. Real power.

Besides… Lynn had only revealed his demonic identity after she chose to join the Supernatural Investigation Club. If she’d refused back then, he probably would’ve let her go. No threats, no pressure.

And it wasn’t like he hadn’t warned her before. She’d simply chosen not to listen.

Now, with her heart steadied and her thoughts made clear, Yotsuya Miko lifted her chin. Determination burned quietly in her gaze.

She would become a demon.